OBS Chapter 136 Xiao Ziyan mysteriously disappeared!
Chapter 136 Xiao Ziyan mysteriously disappeared!
"Li Changsheng, His Majesty has ordered you not to kill too many people, or else there will be no end!"
"Jiang Li is a member of the Jiang family, the nephew of the Queen Mother. He cannot be killed without authorization. He should be escorted back to the Divine Capital immediately and handed over to the military court for punishment!"
"Also, July 7th is coming soon. We must return to Luodu in time and don't delay our work!"
After coming out of Changle Palace, Qingying immediately conveyed the empress's instructions.
Li Changsheng saw that it was already the second day of July, and there were only five days left until the seventh day of July.
From here, it would take at least two days to lead the army to the capital.
This means that he can stay in Yanshi for another three days.
But now the six major villages are just getting started.
The number of available personnel on my side is pitifully small.
He has to do many things himself.
Three days is really too short!
We still have to find ways to reserve more talents.
But talented people are hard to come by!
After all, studying is a very money-consuming profession.
In ordinary families, few can afford to support an adult man who does not work but concentrates on studying.
Basically, they are monopolized by those aristocratic families.
In fact, the reason why these aristocratic families have been able to stand for hundreds of years.
A very important reason is the monopoly of knowledge.
By monopolizing knowledge, exporting talents, and relying on the influence of one's own family.
It is very easy to push family members to serve as officials in the court.
These disciples who hold official positions will use their power to give back to their families.
If he wanted to push forward the reform smoothly, he had to break the monopoly of knowledge by the aristocratic families.
The best way to break the monopoly of knowledge is to open a school and enroll children from poor families.
Only after these children from poor families enter the officialdom will they have the opportunity to gain a voice.
The reason why Confucius became a sage.
In addition to his profound knowledge, there is another very important factor.
That was his first proposition: education for all.
It broke the framework of "learning in government offices".
In a sense, this broke the aristocracy's monopoly on knowledge at that time.
It seems that I have to emulate Confucius.
Let’s set up a school for the common people!
Ten years of education, a hundred years of cultivating people.
This thing still has a long way to go!
However, once it is accomplished, the impact on future generations will be extremely far-reaching and will surely go down in history!
After making up his mind, Li Changsheng went to the county government office to find Du Yuan.
He also briefly explained his idea of setting up a school for the common people.
After listening to Li Changsheng's story, Du Yuan was completely stunned.
"Mr. Li, can this be accomplished?"
Ever since Li Changsheng shouted out the "Four Wishes in My Life", Du Yuan has regarded it as his spiritual totem.
It is really inappropriate to refer to one's spiritual totem by a secular official title.
So he changed Li Changsheng's address from "Military Inspector" to "Mr. Li" to show respect.
Li Changsheng said earnestly: "Whether it can be successful or not, we have to give it a try!"
"When Confucius proposed the idea of teaching everyone, he certainly didn't know whether it would succeed."
"If he hadn't tried because he was afraid of failure, there wouldn't be three thousand disciples, seventy-two sages, and certainly no Confucian saints like today!"
Li Changsheng stirred Du Yuan's excitement with just a few words.
"Mr. Li, what you mean is that if we succeed, we can also leave our names in history?"
"Of course. The merits of education are greater than the heavens. Perhaps one day he will even be on par with a saint!"
The cake that Li Changsheng painted this time made Du Yuan drool.
Being on par with saints was something he couldn't even imagine.
If you can become a disciple of a saint, you will die without regrets in this life.
Just when Li Changsheng was trying his best to deceive people, a bailiff came hurriedly to report.
Mr. Wang from the west of the city came to report the case, saying that his unmarried daughter was raped and brutally murdered.
After learning the news, Li Changsheng and Du Yuan hurried over with their men.
When we arrived at the crime scene, we only found a few dried peach blossoms.
Nothing else.
Seeing the peach petals, Du Yuan suddenly exclaimed.
"It's the Peach Blossom Thief!"
Li Changsheng asked doubtfully, "Peach Blossom Thief?"
Du Yuan patiently explained, "The Peach Blossom Thief is a flower-stealing thief who has been on the run for many years and has committed no fewer than a hundred crimes."
"Every time he succeeded in committing a crime, he would throw a few pieces of these dried peach petals on the victim."
"Hence, the nickname, Peach Blossom Thief!"
Li Changsheng frowned and asked, "This Peach Blossom Thief has committed hundreds of crimes in a row, yet he hasn't been caught yet. What's the government doing?"
Du Yuan blushed and said, "Mr. Li, you don't know this. This Peach Blossom Thief has three unique skills."
Li Changsheng asked with great interest, "Oh, what are the three unique skills?"
Du Yuan introduced: "First, this Peach Blossom Thief is good at shrinking bones and disguising himself, and can disguise himself as someone else."
"So, until now, no one has ever seen the true face of this Peach Blossom Thief!"
"Secondly, this Peach Blossom Thief is skilled at poisoning. It's said that he can even concoct a colorless and odorless aphrodisiac called Hehuan Xiaoyao Powder."
"Once the victim is poisoned, they will lose their consciousness and actively cooperate with this Peach Blossom Thief, no longer offering any resistance!"
"Third, I heard that this Peach Blossom Thief is an excellent Qinggong. He appears and disappears without a trace, like a ghost, appearing and disappearing mysteriously!"
After listening to Du Yuan’s story, I learned about the three characteristics of the Peach Blossom Thief.
Li Changsheng had some understanding of this flower thief.
However, he still had no idea how to capture it.
It was just a simple questioning of the Wang family members as per convention.
Ask their family if they have noticed any signs of a strange man stopping and wandering around recently.
Has their daughter behaved abnormally recently?
However, the answers were all negative.
Just when Li Changsheng was at a loss,
Xiao Qi ran over in a hurry.
"Li Jianjun, something terrible has happened! Something's happened to my eldest daughter!"
Li Changsheng was startled when he heard this and asked in surprise:
"Your eldest daughter shouldn't be in the capital. What's the point of you telling me if she's in trouble?"
Xiao Qi hurriedly explained: "My eldest daughter is not in Shendu, but in Yanshi."
Li Changsheng asked, "Why did she come to Yanshi when she was fine?"
Xiao Qi replied, "The eldest lady said she came to seek revenge on you and asked me to help her, but I refused."
"Then, she said she was looking for revenge on you. I was careless and didn't keep an eye on her, so she disappeared."
Li Changsheng: "..."
It seems that Xiao Ziyan is a very vengeful girl!
In order to seek revenge, they actually chased here.
Just then, Du Yuan added a sentence.
"The Peach Blossom Thief is lurking in the city right now. Miss Xiao, please don't..."
When he said this, he suddenly realized that the next words were too unlucky, so he swallowed them back.
When Xiao Qi heard this, his expression suddenly changed.
If it is really as Du Yuan said.
If the eldest lady met with an unexpected accident, it would certainly make the general furious.
By then, he would be beyond redemption even if he died a hundred times!
Li Changsheng saw that his face was extremely grim, so he tried to comfort him, "Don't worry, things haven't reached the worst point yet!"
"General Xiao, take me now to the place where I last saw your eldest daughter!"
Xiao Qi nodded repeatedly and led Li Changsheng forward.
Wang Yuanwai saw that the matter had not been resolved yet and the people from the yamen had left, so he hurried forward and shouted:
"Why are you all gone? What should I do with my daughter? What should I do?"
Butler Zhang Gui limped forward and advised, "Master, I just heard them say that the eldest daughter of the Xiao family had an accident and she probably doesn't have time to take care of our family."
Wang Yuanwai burst into tears and shouted in anger, "The daughter of the Xiao family is a human being, but my daughter is not a human being?"
"My daughter, you died so tragically, so tragically!"
When Li Changsheng heard Wang Yuanwai's wailing, he felt sorry for him and subconsciously looked back.
When his eyes fell on the butler, his gaze suddenly froze.
At this moment, the butler seemed to notice someone was staring at him.
At this time, I looked up.
Just as their eyes met.
Li Changsheng slowly spoke, "Mr. Wang, don't worry. Your daughter's death will not be in vain. I will definitely bring the murderer to justice and seek justice for her!"
When he mentioned the word "murderer", his eyes inadvertently swept towards the housekeeper.
Hearing Li Changsheng's words, Mr. Wang was grateful and kept thanking him.
"Zhang Gui, please send the military supervisor off for me!"
Zhang Gui responded hurriedly and limped forward to see him off.
Li Changsheng glanced at Zhang Gui's lame leg and asked nonchalantly, "Butler Zhang, what's wrong with your leg?"
Zhang Gui sighed and said, "Ah, when I was little, my daughter flew a kite. The kite landed on a tree, and I climbed up to get it."
"As a result, I accidentally fell from up there and broke my leg!"
Li Changsheng continued the topic and casually asked, "Now that your leg is broken, have you ever blamed your young lady?"
Zhang Gui shook his head repeatedly and said, "How can I possibly blame her? My daughter was only about seven or eight years old at the time, still just a child. Why should I blame her?"
"It's all fate, no one is to blame!"
Li Changsheng asked: "Do you believe in fate?"
Hearing Li Changsheng's sudden question, Zhang Gui was dumbfounded.
He was stunned for a long time before he smiled awkwardly.
"Master Li, seeing how you ask, of course I believe in fate. Fate is so powerful, who can resist it?"
Xiao Qi saw that he was already like an ant on the hot pan, but Li Changsheng was still in the mood, so he went to talk to a housekeeper about whether he believed in fate or not.
This made him so anxious that he stamped his feet and hurriedly urged.
"Li Jianjun, let's hurry up. If we delay any longer, my young lady might be in more danger!"
"I also believe in fate, and I've always believed that good things happen in the world. Good deeds are rewarded, and evil deeds are punished. It's not that there is no retribution, it's just that the time has not come yet!"
After Li Changsheng finished speaking, he smiled at the housekeeper Zhang Gui again.
He took two steps at a time and quickly caught up.
Zhang Gui looked at Li Changsheng's back.
Thinking back to the other person, the smile on his face when he looked at me for the last time.
I have an inexplicable feeling, a chill down my spine.
Watching Li Changsheng's figure disappear from sight.
His narrowed eyes instantly became extremely vicious, like a venomous snake choosing its prey...